It was a gorgeous sunny day in the city of Maplevale. The morning rush had already passed, and with school not yet started for another few weeks, the traffic was at calm levels--save the rush of the teenagers with cars. The city was expanding rapidly with the new jobs that the energy and technology plants were opening bringing new people to it. The city had begun to swell from a population of 100,000 to nearly 200,000 in the span of half a decade. The construction jobs prevalent to deal with the expansion had been numerous, but it was dying down finally. Thankfully. It was still growing rapidly, beginning to earn the nickname "mini-metropolis." It boasted numerous parks, a growing expanse of skyscrapers, a few large lakes, and two centers of learning renowned for their academia nationwide--one of them Ivy League. In short, life was good in the city.

Jericho meditated on the roof of the city, trying to focus his power, trying to understand it. He still was unsure of what to do with this power. Becca was still trying to get him to put on some ridiculous outfit and "hero it up" with her. Still couldn't believe that had become a reality.

But was that what his powers were meant for? There was the argument that power not used was no better than having none at all. There was also the argument that great power carried great responsibility--the Spider-Man credo--but just because you had the power were you necessarily obligated to the world around you to use it?

"You're thinking about it again, aren't you?"

Jericho sighed. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even felt Becca's presence. His face made a grimace that faded when he saw Becca in her civvies and not in her "Vivacious" uniform.

"You always do that," she grumbled, folding her arms. "I'm doing some good out there."

"I didn't say a word," Jericho said, closing his eyes and trying to return to meditating.

"You don't have to," she snapped, "your face says it for you. Look, I messed up and am trying to make up for it like you taught me!"

"I don't recall telling you to name yourself 'Vivacious,'" he said with an unsuppressed smile.

She made a face. "You're a real smug bastard, y'know that?"

"Guilty," he added with a laugh.

"Hey!" she said grabbing his arm and pulling him up. "Enough with the monk stuff! I'm hungry!"

Jericho popped an eye open to look at her. "You're a grown woman," he commented. "Go and get yourself something to eat."

Suddenly, he felt a spike of energy and saw a glowing ball of golden light in Becca's hands. She looked highly disgruntled.

"I don't wanna eat alone," she said. "And just like you helped me, it's my job to help you. And all this antisocial behavior just isn't good for you."

Jericho sighed. "I take it that means you're gonna badger me until I agree to go?"

Becca tackle-hugged Liza in zero to sixty. "I told you I'd be back for you," she said. "C'mon, we'll show you the town! We can--holy shit balls what happened here?!" She released Liza and stared at the carnage. "Damn...I should've been here last night..." she said under her breath.

She looked back at Liza and her eyes went wide as saucers. "So. You. Town. Painting it purple cause red is so done. You in?"

"She says it as a question, but it's rhetorical," Jericho said to the air, taking in the carnage himself.

Wow. He'd need to check the news later and see what happened. Not that it pertained to him. His expression went dark for a minute as he thought of those damn soldiers from the hospital last night. He wanted to look into them--crazy assholes had almost hurt Alisha. No. They were gone, she was safe, that was all that mattered.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

Liza fliched as Becca hugged her, surprised before she broke into an amused smile. Her amusement died as Becca noticed the destruction and muttered something about being there under her breath. She one of the kids causing these messes? No, she didnt want to think that, she didnt seem amused by the destruction. Neither of them did.

Liza crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Tell you what," she said. "You help me with laundry and shopping and I'm all yours for the day."

"Hey, genius!" Jericho called after her. "You don't know where she lives!"

Becca stopped dead in her tracks. "Ooh. Yeah." She looked at Liza. "You should probably, um, lead the way. Yeah..." She glared around Liza. "So help me God, Jericho, I will make you play all of the Spyro games with me!" she called as he had almost rounded a corner and escaped. A wail of despair escaped his lips and he turned around and headed in their direction.

"How did I get stuck in this again...?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

"Not home yet, kids," she said, pulling her wrist free from Becca with a grin. "We're going shopping."

An hour later they were back at Liza's apartment complex. Liza had dumped her groceries into Jericho's arms - an ungodly amount of ramen noodles, rice and beans, and a bag of oranges. Didn't want to be getting scurvy after all. Liza keyed into the complex and made her way for the elevator, hitting the button for the top floor.

Liza led the two of them to her apartment door, unlocking the door and throwing it open. The place was small - a main room, one bedroom, and a kitchenette - and a mess. An unassembled set of shelves and the rest of her crap she hadn't put away yet were all thrown by the wall next to the door; dishes she'd washed but been too lazy to put away yet were all over the counters of the kitchenette; through the door to the bedroom one could see the bedsheets in a tumble. The main room had a table and a couch pushed to the wall, to make room for a heavy bag she'd hung over a visible ceiling beam. The place... wasn't exactly in the best shape.

"Unless you have any ideas we're gonna have to wait around for laundry," Liza said, walking into her room and coming out with a laundry basket with a deep red hoodie at the top of it.

At once, he put the groceries on the counter, then looked in the cupboards and drawers. Moving with surprising speed, he began to both put up the groceries and the dishes, taking the time to organize a few of the items to be a little more efficient.

Becca's mirth was palpable. "I can almost never talk him into coming over my place anymore," she said. "I'm a slob and he can't help himself--though he won't vacuum and wipe down anymore when he does visit."

When he finished, in a markedly short time, he grabbed the basket of laundry and headed to the door. "There's a nice laundromat near where I live," he said. "Let's just get this over with."

"You'll make someone a nice wife someday," Becca called after him with a giggle. He called back some fairly obscene things.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

"Whoa there kid, what's your name again? Jerkface?" She walked out the door, locking it behind her before she caught up to him and grabbed back her laundry basket. "I got this one just fine."

She let him lead the way to the laundromat, where she took care of her clothes quickly, dumping her laundry in a washer and slamming the door a bit too quickly. "Right, what's your plan now?" she said as she filled the machine up with quarters.

Liza leaned against the washing machine, watching him go with exasperation. She raised one hand in a sort of shrug and let it drop. "And then he just runs away," she said, amazed. "You can't just throw down like that and run off."

She pushed off the washing machine and took off after him, throwing open the door and bursting out into the street.

He heard the door behind him burst open and saw her running out, and looked back with a cocky grin. "You must be lacking in your street work. So slooooooooow!" he teased again, laughing mischievously as he ran across the street. Luckily, traffic was light. A small park lie on the other side and he ran into it, progressively slowing down subtly until she had almost caught him. Immediately, he turned and threw a five punch combo, calling "Think fast!" right before he did so.

She was catching up to him, and she wasn't sure if it was because he was letting her or he was just getting tired. She hoped it was the latter. I don't need some kid playing nice for me. For some reason just the thought of that made her angry, and when he turned to throw punches at her she had her arms up, blocking his shots before she came in straight with a quick jab towards his face - not actually intending to hit him, mind. She wasn't that annoyed yet.

He slipped the jab, grinning as he went down and aimed a hook and cross at her body. "C'mon," he said with a challenging grin, "you don't strike me as the type to take it easy on anyone."

She blocked his shots and gave him a dirty look. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked him, keeping herself from throwing another punch. She had to keep her head.

He shot to her side, throwing a couple of light jabs. "You said do something," he said with a grin, dancing around her and throwing a few more jabs for distance. "So here we are." His grin became devious. "Unless you think I should use a handicap cause you're a giiiiiirl!"

Her face darkened. Oh so what if someone called the cops on them. She lunged, closing the distance frighteningly fast and jabbing for his face, followed by a uppercut to his gut.

"Holy...!"

He barely slipped the jab, though it grazed his face and turned and brought his elbow down, barely blocking the jab. She was even better than he thought. Time to up my game. His speed picked up to match hers with a hook, cross, hook, jab, right hook, uppercut. "That's more like it!"

"Kick his ass, Liza!" Becca called, clapping her hands with glee. "Give him a roundhouse kick!"

Jericho turned away, letting down his guard slightly in exasperation. "She's a boxer, goof!" She lunged as he dropped his guard, decking him across the face before she had the sense to stop herself.

"Damn...!" was all he managed as he turned and took the blow full on to the face. He stumbled backward temporarily staggered. If he had been a normal human, that would've taken him to the ground if not outright knocked him out. Shit. I forgot... He made himself fall over, going to the ground. It had been too long, how long was he supposed to stay down here? His head did feel rattled, though. He grinned. The girl could hit.

Becca stood there grinning from the way. "Pay attention, Jerkface, you just got clocked by a girl." She could be more concerned. Then he realized she'd hit him harder than that so she knew what he could take.

She drew back quickly as he stumbled, cringing as he stumbled back and then fell over. "Shit," she muttered, kneeling down next to him and looking around anxiously. Her own hand burned from the blow, but it seemed to be okay - the kid though... Becca seemed unconcerned, but Liza wasn't. What do I even check? "Damn it," she said.

"Well," he said, giving her a playful shove and stumbling to his feet. "If you have Becca around you can distract the guy and give them a sucker punch." He grinned again, putting a hand to his head. "Good one."

Liza stood up quickly, giving him an odd look. He was up pretty damn fast... and his fall was weird too. He should have dropped like a rock. "Right, if you're done being an ass we can move right on," she said shortly. Had he just wanted to bail on that fight? Was he letting her win?

"What?" he said, keeping a hand to his head. How long was he supposed to keep this up, exactly? "You never want to spar when you meet a fighter? I just wish I was better. Seems I got a long way to go." More like, he wished he didn't have to hold back so he could see how good she really was. Though in truth, that would mean not just sticking only to punches. That exchange had told him she was quite talented.

"If you're done being a testosterone junkie, Jerkface," Becca said with a grin, "maybe we can get back to the laundry. Probs done by now."

"We've been gone at best five minutes," Jericho said flatly.

Liza crossed her arms. "Yes but not in public without any gear to keep up from killing each other," she said, clearly irritated. She threw her head back, staring up at the sky as she took a breath to calm down. "Idiot," she finally said, before looking at Becca. "Let's get food."

"What? Working up an appe--"

"Ahhh ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

A man wearing a wet hoodie and black lace underwear on his head ran out of the laundromat and leapt onto a car. "I am pantyman! All recognize my glorious prowess!" He threw up a rock symbol with his left hand, then grabbed his crotch and thrust with it several times before leaping off and running away.

Liza stared, watching him go a moment until it dawned on her. "You're fucking SHITTING ME" she yelled, giving chase.

Jericho and Becca blinked and looked at each other. Becca burst out laughing and Jericho couldn't help but grin. "I'll let you handle this one," he told her. Becca grinned evilly and cracked her knuckles and charged after Liza, cutting in a different direction. Jericho headed back into the laundromat to see the damage.

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Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

As Brianna’s eyes open, she realized that she felt neither the softness of her pillow nor the feeling of being warm under her blankets. Instead, she felt only the stiffness in her body due to falling asleep at the desk again

“Ugh…” She groaned as she lazily wiped her hand over her face. “I need to take a break one of these days.” This was becoming a common occurrence for her. From the look of things, she had managed to finish up her work before passing out. Her coffee, now long past being hot, sat on the desk beside her work.

She quickly got herself cleaned up for the day before searching for her comrades. She needed to find out the group’s agenda before she made any plans herself.

Jericho went back inside, finding Liza's clothes splayed all over the floor. He shook his head, bending over to pick them up and silently groaning. His nose was a little sore--she hadn't pulled that punch--but it was his injuries from last night that were bothering him. He had some deep bruises from those damned bullets. That special tea helped speed along his already increased metabolism more, making him heal faster, but it wasn't instantaneous.

He shook his head at himself. What had gotten into him out there? It had been so long since he'd felt the urge to challenge someone like that. There had just been something about her that had screamed high caliber. His teacher back home had always said to fight those people when you came across them. He said the urge to would come. Huh. He's been right. It was sometimes hard to believe a man when he put that much vodka in his morning coffee.

Her clothes back in the washer, he restarted it and gingerly sat down. Hey, at least no one had noticed he was injured, and he could always play it off as soreness. Lucky for Becca she also seemed to heal quickly. That hit to the head, tea helped, was already looking like a two week old bruise. She's used makeup to finish it off.

[Attn: Liza, Open]

Becca grinned as she ran, wind blowing through her hair. She'd always loved running ever since she was little. Just go as fast and as hard until it felt like her lungs would burst. And as she had done so, she'd found that it took longer for that to happen and that she'd covered so much more distance. It was great. What was perplexing was that she wasn't gaining on Liza. Is she a track runner herself?

She was having trouble gauging what had been her normal before the accident, but it couldn't hurt to hold that speed for long. As they ran after the panty-wearing loser, though, she noticed some graffiti as they rounded a corner. She grinned with delight, but knew she'd better stop it. She increased her running speed to gain on Liza, calling after her.

"Hey! Stop!" she called. "It's a trap! You'd--uh...we'd better get out of here before we're in trouble!"

[Attn: Brianna]

A hot cup of tea was waiting for her at her usual chair when she came into the main area. "Thought I heard you up." That would be Styx. She was wearing overalls with a cutoff shirt that stopped at her midriff underneath. Her toned muscles flexed as she worked on one of her latest projects. She was always working but she always managed to find time to look after everyone. And model. Couldn't forget that.

[Attn: Tam, Terry]

"Rise and shine, you lot!"

Horatio's voice sounded through intercom speakers. "Breakfast is ready and waiting in the dining room! Get your asses in gear and come on down cause the price is right!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

Weeds growing between cracks in the sidewalk wilted and died as she passed, drawing in extra energy from them as she sprinted after the thief. Oh she was going to murder this man...

Liza looked back as she heard Becca's voice - had she followed her? Damn. She was hoping she'd get to let go and punch this loser into next week, but that wasnt going to happen with Becca there. The girl yelled something about a trap...?

"Like I care!" she yelled back, charging on. I need to lose her. She'd welcome a trap right now to burn some anger, but not with Becca tagging along. How did she do this subtly?

She made note of the things trajectory before making a sharp turn down another lightly populated street, out of Becca's sight. Sorry guys, I'm gonna have to borrow some juice. She pulled in energy from the few people around her, just a little from each, and that along with what she grabbed from nearby plants sent her sprinting even faster down the road as she made another turn to return to the thief's trail.

[ATTN: Tam, Horatio]

Terry visibly jumped as Horatios voice echoed over the intercom. He stood sheepishly, saying goodbye to his spectral friend before he left the bathroom and started to search for this dining room.

He followed his nose to the door of the dining room and entered, looking for Horatio. "Reporting for duty, sir," he said, sounding exhausted.

She blinked as Liza suddenly turned down another corner. Had she just gotten faster?! Her pride burned for a moment until she realized that that led away from the thief. Good girl. I'll deal with this pesky thief and his cronies.

She sped after the thief, winding up, as she thought, in the back alleys of the Mackelmore district. "Panty Man" was standing in the middle of what looked like a makeshift stage. The area around them had several run-down apartments and an electrical power generator area that was gated off. Several alleyways bled into this one. Perfect for escape if you knew the routes...or an ambush.

"Have you come for these Aryan goods," he said, making terrible thrusting motions at her.

She made a face. "Firstly, you wannabe creep, your hair is bleach blond," she said ticking off a finger. "Second, that mottled skin tone screams Russian and cheap trailer trash." Another finger. "Third, I'll give points for the sheer bullshit factor of...all of this" She threw her hand in the air in a rock gesture and swiveled her hips, laughing. "You boys coming out or am I gonna rearrange his face first?!"

[Attn: Terry]

The glass table in the dining room was loaded with assorted breakfast foods and fruit. Assorted pancakes, sausage, links, bacon, eggs--scrambled, poached, over easy--toast, and various jams and syrup. Horatio was already going to town on a five stack lathered with butter.

"Already prayed," he said around a mouthful. "Food's blessed. Though I don't know if you're religious."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

Liza ran out into another alley, where she thought the mans wild run would have taken him, to see... no one. "Damn." Okay, maybe he'd stopped earlier, and she started running down alleys as she tried to work out his position in her head. Well, at least she'd lost Becca.

She started down one alley, seeing a makeshift stage at the end of it and her thief standing up On it and facing away from her. "Found ya loser," she said, running for him and stopping when she saw... "G*ddamn it, Becca," she said, "what was that you said to do about bailing?" She glanced around her at the alleys around them. Great. Her being here would make things harder.

[ATTN: Horatio]

Religious? "Of a sort," he said, his eyes widening at the amount of food laid out. What a waste... He shook his head at himself, scolding himself for the thought as he pulled out a chair to sit. He scanned Horatio's thoughts absently as he fumbled for some of the fruit.

As Renee walks the mean streets with her friends, her hands unmovingly stuffed in her jean pockets, a chase barrels by. Some nutcase, wearing girl's undergarments, on his head, no less, shot by. In pursuit are two young ladies. Renee arches an eyebrow as they disappear around the corner. Then she glances up. "Ellie," she says.

"Distract Kenny?" Ellie asks.

"Distract Kenny."

With that, she dips back into a secluded alleyway, pulling her goggles and outfit from her backpack. Moments later, the acrobatic adolescent is stories up, following the pursuit from the rooftops, with her bag slung over her shoulder. She lands on one ledge and peeks over. "Splitting up. Guess I'll just keep following the loon." She continues her pursuit, reaching into her bag and getting out a camera as she follows. "Watching this guy get the crap beat out of him is sure to rack up a few million hits, no?"

She stops off on a rooftop overlooking where he's stopped and the two girls have seemingly cornered him. She then lays out along the ledge, angling down the camera to catch the entirety of the unholy beat down as it is certain to unfold. "Front row. Nothin' but the best, baby."

[Attn: Open]

MyTech Tower. Leroy Finch stands at his work station, analyzing the data he's collected from the last few trials of his latest project. "Ultimately a failure, but we're stepping closer to success with every test. I believe in two or three more sittings, we'll have achieved our goal, at last," he says into a tape recorder.

She heard swearing behind her and grimaced as she saw. "What the hell, Liz?" Becca growled. "I warned you away from here. This is not the place to be." What was it with people. They can throw a punch and suddenly they thought they could just go anywhere in the mean streets?

"Warned me? What, like you can handle this place better than me?" she snapped. What was with this girl? "My panties my problem, go home."

"Uh, yeah, I can," she said, turning back. "Grew up on the streets. And you just stumbled into the territory of the Mackelmore Manglers." She inclined her head slightly. "Isn't Bruce and David a little outside of your purview?"

"A wise bitch, eh?" Came a voice from the other side. "Hadn't you heard? New deals are getting made everyday, and the Manglers are seizing territory." He looked at her for a second. "Waitaminute. You look familiar, bitch--ah, never mind. Boys!" From all the other alleyways men with clubs, chains, and the like started walking into the area, blocking the ways out.

"Human trafficking?" Becca said with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't know I'd been gone that long..." she muttered under her breath."

"Wise bitch ain't so wise, though, if she came knowing this was our hood."

They were surrounded. Becca could only hope her compatriot was as good as she thought she was. She couldn't get dazzly with all these onlookers--unless she wanted a lot of blood on her hands. She knew the rules; no witnesses. And she had never gone down that road and never intended to.

"Give yourselves up quietly and it will be...less unpleasant."

Liza watched as the others came out of the alley, and she cracked her knuckles. This... might get rough. Damn. I have to fight handicapped. She could probably siphon from them subtly and get away with it, but anything with real power behind it was out of the picture. The fewer the witnesses the better. Not to say she wouldn't go super on them if she had to - after all, keeping Becca alive and out of their hands would be priority. She could just hit everyone hard enough that they forgot.

"That answers the question about your sex life," Becca joked, looking at Liz and sticking out her tongue. Her expression became serious. "I'm gonna make an opening back there," she said in a low voice, cutting her eyes to the alleyway next to the generator. "Be ready to run for it. Cut a left and three rights and you'll be back in main street. These assholed are brazen, but not enough to cause a ruckus on a busy street in broad daylight." She hoped. Last nights events had been a surprise to find out about.

"Whoa, slow down," Liza said, "Who said you were allowed to play hero? If you stay so do I." Girl would bloody well get herself killed - well, not killed. That wasn't really what they were going for, was it.

Becca rolled her eyes. "I don't know what fantasy land you come from," she hissed, "but here? You pick your fights. We're outnumbered and surrounded. This isn't the place to be. I'm not staying in this area." She'd managed to outlast a whole gang more than once using the alleys.

"Yo! Quit you're whispering! Get these bitches!"

"Fuck," Becca swore. "No time. Get your ass in gear, girl!"

She turned and sprinted toward a man with a spiked bat. He grinned. He winked and made a kissing gesture. That lasted for as long as it took her to dive between his legs, roll to her feet, and bring her foot back up. He went down and she relieved him of his bat. She growled as three others stood there stunned while two more were converging on her position.

So long as we're both moving... Liza darted after Becca as she took off. She was impressively quick on her feet, and Liza took a moment to appreciate that as she charged one of the two men now converging on her, grabbing his shoulder to spin him around so she could clock him in the jaw. She focused, siphoning a touch of energy off of him as he fell, making sure he'd be out for a good while. "Let's out," she said, giving the other guy approaching Becca the finger and starting to move towards the edge of them.

Becca grinned at her new partner in crime. "Damn," she said, "I knew I liked you." She turned briefly to bring the bat up the other guy's nuts. He cried out as the bat remained there and dropped his chain, which Becca picked up and took off running, giggling out loud as she ran at a nearby dumpster and leapt onto it, then at and off the wall, leaping for a man, leapfrogging over him, only to turn around and slap him and the guy next to him with the chain. Teeth flew through the air as they went down.

"Let's roll!" she cried out with a laugh, looking back to "Panty Man" and throwing up the rock sign with a pelvic thrust before turning to run down the alley.

She really was acrobatic, and Liza watched her go to town with more than a little amusement. Not as bad as I'd feared then, she thought, and as Becca ran off she took a moment to siphon a little from another thug before running after her.

She made a hard turn right and then another, suddenly she leapt back and gunfire narrowly missed her. "Damn," she said. "Hope you can climb, cause we're gonna have to take my favorite detour! Got me nine stitches the first time!"

She turned and ran down another ally where a large fence lie before them with barbed wire at the top. Immediately, she sprinted for it, veering off toward the wall and leaping running up it and leaping sideways toward the gate where she deftly grabbed in between the wire and flipped herself over. She looked back to Liza and pointed upward behind her. "There's a fire escape that'll get you over here."

"I think I'll like the fire escape better," she said, running for it and scrambling up so she could leap over the fence to join Becca. Those acrobatics were waaaay beyond her and she was not afraid to admit it.

Becca had already scouted ahead while Liza was taking the slow route. "Unfortunately, this puts us a few turns away from a main street. Hurry!"

She rounded another corner and gunfire came from behind them. "Guess they don't want this body anymore," she said with a grin, her eyes alive with amusement.

They made a few more turns before they heard another call. To their right were three police officers.

Liza skidded to a stop as she saw the officers to their right. "Hey," she called. "Coupla lunatics wandering round back there," she said, gesturing behind her where the gunfire came from. She wasn't entirely sure what sort of cops you'd find in this neighborhood...

When Liza turned around, she'd find that Becca was nowhere to be seen. "We heard shots fired," one of them said as they moved cautiously toward her. "Are you alright, miss?"

"You're not armed, are you?" asked another, his hand on his holster, watching her cautiously.

They were in the normal blue uniform of street cops. One had blue eyes, pepper gray hair, and stubble; another was fit with brown hair and eyes; the third had jet black hair and hazel eyes set in a handsome face and the uniform couldn't hide his physique.

She almost did a double take when she saw Becca had vanished, and tried to play it off. If she wasnt keen on cops she wouldn't call her out on it. "Very unarmed," she said, holding out her palms face-up. "And fine."

They all looked at each other. "Good," said hazel eyes. His badge named him Martin. In an instant, he had whipped out his taser and fired, his two prongs plugging her in the chest and sending voltage through her body.

Liza twitched and fell forward, her limbs going slack. Shoulda seen it coming. She tried to wrest control of her limbs, her mouth twitching into what might have been a grotesque smile.

Oh this was it. She was done putting up with this bullshit, and Martin would suddenly feel exhausted as a faint trickle of golden energy trailed from his body and began to coalesce in her hands.

"What the...?" Martin said leaning against a wall. "I don't...fuck. Get the girl. You cuff her, Mook. Hollens, pull your piece in case she gets--"

"Thank you for the gift!"

Becca appeared behind them, police baton in her hands, stolen from Hollens, the pepper gray officer. In seconds, she began ripping the man apart with the baton as if she had been raised with the thing in her cradle. Mook pulled his gun but his shot fired straight up into the air as she cracked his elbow, three-shotted his ribs, then pulled in for a lock and dislocated his other shoulder as she hip threw him. She turned to find a shaky Martin pointing his gun shakily at her. "You're dead, bitch."

Oh come on! Figured she'd appear now before Liza could let loose. She shoved the energy down into her limbs to kick start them, and managed to look up to see Martin pointing his gun at Becca. Subtlety would have to go. Liza yanked energy from him in fistfuls, hoping to drain him enough that staying conscious alone would be impossible.

Becca blinked as the man fell over. Energy--or something--had just shot out and around him and was gone. He fell over, the gun dropping harmlessly on the ground as he slumped over. "What in the actual hell...?" she said.

"Nice try, bitches."

They turned to find themselves surrounded by the men, all of them with guns pointed at the two. Becca held her hands up. Shit. How were they getting out of this...?

Liza was still on the ground when she heard the man speak, and a glance around her showed they were surrounded. She stayed down. Bundled up under her was a knot of energy with the power of a small bomb, but she needed the right shot...but it'd have to be soon. She had to make sure she hadn't actually killed the man.

She waited, impatient, for the right moment.

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Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

Renee nearly drops her camera when she sees men popping up all around them. She sighs and puts her camera away, placing her bag behind her and getting ready to leap down. "Ren, what is it with you and being a good samaritan?" She pauses when she sees the two girls bowl through these guys like a couple of dynamos. "Whoa! Now that's girl power!"

She turns and follows as they duck and dodge through alleys. Unbeknownst to them, she pops down everyone once in a while, dragging one or two goons out of the back of the little formation. As she finishes taking out one, last thug, she hears the confrontation not far off between one of the girls and the officers. "Uh oh," she says.

She takes back to the rooftops and overlooks their situation. Just as they finish up with the police, they're surrounded by more thugs. "I swear, these guys are like freaking roaches." Her lips curl into a devious little smile and she backs up. She launches herself from the rooftop, tackling one of the thugs at the back of the group. "Alley-oop!" As the other thugs turn around, she glances up at the nearest one. "Hi," she says. "16."

"What?"

"They number of the truck you just got hit by?"

"What truck?!"

Renee lunges forward, punching the thug so hard that he and those immediate around him all fly from their feet. "Just like dominos! That's it, fellas! Drop to their feet! Ye are not worthy!"

At the sudden distraction, Becca grinned. She cast a quick glance toward Liza; her gaze was on the girl who had descended from the rooftops. She took her shot. She released a quick burst of light and dove to the ground as the men were blinded and started shooting wildly.

"Gah! My eyes!" she cried as she went to the ground, covering them. "What the hell was that?!" This identity thing was actually kind of fun. Like doing theater.

She lay there, covering her eyes as she could hear the random girl pummeling the men. Girl power day, it seems. Wasn't she the chick from last night...?

[Attn: Terry, Tam]

Horatio was woofing down his food. His mind jumped from thought to thought like quicksilver. He'd already read what last night had done to his stocks and already had a press conference and three different things to counter the dip. He thought about the doctor he'd be taking Tam to. Speaking of...

"Get your ass out of that bed, Tammy Minako. "

He'd have this excess distributed to the local shelter as always. He smiled at himself; he liked to start the day with a good deed, no matter how small.

(Note: <> denote speaking in another language. In this case, Japanese.)

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Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

Tam hears Horatio's call the first time, shaking her head before falling back to sleep almost instantly. The last thing she likes to do is wake up before noon. Even her classes rarely started before then. She made sure to keep it that way. Now, if she were at her parents', they'd be sure to squash this happy schedule instantly with scolding and repeated, unpleasant wake-up calls.

Her sleep is soon interrupted again as Horatio's voice pounds against her pleasant dreams of being much skinner with abs and lean muscles all over her body while she kicks the ass of various villains with her bare hands and occasionally the weapons that she tricked from her foes.

She slowly but surely drags herself into the dining room, her hair all mussed up and her shoulders and back slumped as one eye is fully open and the other just barely twitching to allow her full eyesight. She grumbles something barely audible as she sits down and looks about the table for food.

She takes some soft-scrambled eggs onto her plate grumpily, adding a small amount of bacon and two smaller pancakes on the side before taking her seat and beginning to eat slowly and politely with perfect table manners. She looks up again, however, after a couple of bites.

"...coffee?" She manages.

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Click here to get started on GtR!Many thanks to Skylar for making my sig/avy set!

Liza looked behind her at the girl who jumped from the rooftops. Come ON! What was she supposed to do with this energy now, swallow it?

A light suddenly flashed, and Liza grimaced, momentarily blinded. Well, so's everyone else, she thought, and she threw her arm out in front of her and shot the ball of energy towards a small group of figures she was pretty sure was their thugs. Liza leaped to her feet, blinking away spots and half-covering her eyes in pain. "Becca let's go!" she said, looking over at the new girl. Is every girl in this city secretly a badass?

[ATTN: Tam, Horatio]

Terry reached across the table to pass the coffee Tam's direction as she asked. Her thoughts were dulled and slow - not a morning person, clearly - though he caught shreds of some dream she'd been having still wandering her mind.

He ate light in the mornings, if at all, so once he was finished with the orange he'd pulled in front of him he leaned forward to look at Horatio. "So what're you planning?" he asked

Becca blinked her eyes rapidly as if trying to get spots out and stumbled awkwardly to her feet. She felt Jericho would owe her an ice cream for this tale later. She shook herself, and charged into them, beating on them--and using a couple as a human shield--and in short order, she and Liza had made quick work of them. She turned to find that the crazy girl had already dismantled the rest. She laughed and dusted herself off.

"Ahhh...how I've missed this," she said wistfully. She looked over at the blue lights laying unconscious on the ground and grimaced. "Explains why they've suddenly gotten so brazen. If the police are in on this..." She scoffed. "If this is the "City of Tomorrow," then it's gotten pretty dark." She looked at the newcomer. "Thanks for the assist! Normally I wouldn't have been caught like that, but when I saw them taze my friend here, I had to come back down. Are you one of those supers I've heard so much about?"

[Attn: Tam, Terry]

"That's some pretty stout brew," Horatio warned, "be careful."

At Terry's question, he laughed maniacally. "Same thing I'm always planning!" He said throwing his hands up evilly. "World domination! I dream of a world where women's standard of dress is bikini tops and miniskirts! It's for this I get up every morning!" He fell over laughing, giving Tam an apologetic smile.

"In all earnestness, I plan on taking Tam to that doctor I mentioned. We'll get her figured out and see where to go from there." And I'll see how best to contain this situation. No one's making my protegé a lab rat...

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Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

Renee cracks her neck as she finishes up with the last, thug. She picks up her satchel and pulls out her broken camera. "Ah, man." She gets ready to leave, when -"Thanks for the assist!"-. Well, there are worse ways people could have taken what just happened. She looks over her shoulder, at the two women. "Eh? Ah...I just jumped from a three story building and I'm fine, if that's what you mean. But I'm not one of those cape and tights do-gooders, if that's what you're asking. Not really my style. I was just in the neighborhood." Then she turns her attention down to the thugs on the ground. "And I'm not the biggest fan of gangs."

Renee throws her satchel over her shoulder. "You two have some pretty slick moves. I was tailing your little alley chase. Trimmed a few of these mooks off the back, for you. I'd ask why they were after you, but..." She folds her hands behind her head. "I guess that really is none of my business. So I suppose I should be going, as long as you guys are good."

Liza let out a sigh as the last one hit the ground, putting her hands on her hips. She grimaced as Becca mentioned her getting tazed. "Let's not talk about that," she said, looking over at Renee. Another super, eh? She seemed pretty young, but she wasn't going to argue with her moves. "I imagine we'll be fine," she said, "but yeah, thanks."

It didn't look like panty-man was among those they dropped, and she grimaced. She had liked that pair... and her hoodie. She still needed that for her night life. With luck, Becca would agree it wasn't worth it to pursue the panty thief right now and go home... so that Liza could go back and raise some hell.

[ATTN: Tam, Horatio]

Terry held back a smile as he heard Horatio's thoughts. Yeah, Tam would be in good hands. "Then... should we meet up later? I have some things I gotta do." He still had rounds to make and - apparently - a murder to solve.

Becca smirked and shook her head. "I've got a friend you should meet," she said. "Sounds a lot like you. You got a name? I'm Becca."

She looked at the unconscious gangbangers. "Be careful," she said. "It looks like there's some kinda power struggle...and these guys have 'official' backing. Human trafficking. They're moving up the food chain." She suddenly heard sirens. "But we'd all better clear out. All that gunfire attracted the rollers."

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Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

Renee looks down the street in the direction of the oncoming sirens. She looks a bit closer as the first squad car swerves into view. Through the windshield, she sees a few unfamiliar faces. "Okay, good. Maybe she's somewhere else," she says to herself. Then - "I've got a friend you should meet. Sounds a lot like you. You got a name? I'm Becca." - Ren snaps back into the here-and-now, turning around to face the other girls. "Huh? Oh, uh...I don't really have a...I mean...the mask and...Wild-Child...I guess."